This started out as an attempt to restore two Royal Enfields in 18 months, which I could have done but for loss of two months due to a medical issue, so I'm concentrating on getting one of the bikes completed by the original target date, with the second to be done within the following 6 months. Sorry.

About Me

Sunday, November 27, 2011

All of my posts should be titled "it's been awhile"...

Even if it hasn't.

I've made a bit of headway with the Interceptor's front forks. Got some machine work done to adapt some foreign fork legs to fit the R-E casquette fork crown.

This involved cutting a 26 tpi thread at the top of the stanchion tubes to allow them to screw into the casquette. I also cut a groove into the tops of the sliders so that a standard BSA/Triumph style rubber fork gaiter will work on them. There's a lip at the bottom of each gaiter that mates with the grooves in the fork sliders. (Note that my use of first person above doesn't mean that I actually did the machine work. As the machinist who actually did the work would be among the first to agree, it's best that I never learn to use machine tools, I'm way too prone to making stupid mistakes!)

I also filed off the "Made in...." that was part of the fork slider castings. These will be powder coated red to match the frame.

I'm now working on cleaning up a couple of rear brake drum/sproket/cush drive units.

I'm also tentatively looking at options for the damaged 500 crankcase. I've got a spare crankcase, but it needs work too.
The oil drain plug, which is hollow, and encorporates a mesh strainer with internal passages to supply the engine oil to the feed pump is well and truly stuck. It's made of brass, and I suspect some kind of dis-similar metal type of electrolosis process for causing sufficient corrosion to bond it to the aluminum threads in the crankcase.
Someone had made attempts at removing it long before I acquired the crankcase at a swap meet, and corners are all worn off the hex head. I've used pb blaster, as much heat as I thought the crankcase would tolerate, various types of tools, including the last resort, drilling the head out and using a large easy-out.
Still stuck. To get this out is going to require carefully drilling as much of it away as possible, then somehow picking the remains out of the threads.
The question is, will this be easier and faster than getting the damaged cam tunnel in the other crankcase welded up?
It would be great if I could take the good half from one and use it with the good half from the other. But they're line-bored as a pair, and each half of the crankcase is stamped with the same unique number. Mixing them up is a guarantee of failed bearings and short lived pistons.